Igknight
"Igknight" (イグナイト Igunaito) is an archetype of FIRE Warrior monsters which debuted in Clash of Rebellions. They are used by Shuto Go in the spin-off manga Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V The Strongest Duelist Yuya!! With the exception of "Lancer" and "Champion" (Level 7 and 8 Effect Monsters, respectively), each "Igknight" monster is a Normal Pendulum Monster, with a Pendulum Scale of either 2 ("Gallant", "Cavalier", "Crusader", and "Paladin") or 7 ("Templar", "Squire", "Veteran", and "Margrave"). The "Dracoslayer" archetype hints at a relation between this archetype and "Majespecters". Both are full-Pendulum archetypes containing a "Dracoslayer" monster (which appears to be a merging of one of its archetype members with another mystic creature) and Field Spell Cards portraying the surging of those monsters, both "Dracoslayer" monster and Field Spell Card containing a word with "P", written as "P" with a Furigana, just like how "Pendulum" is written "P" with the Furigana "Pendyuramu". In addition, while the "Majespecter" archetype consists of effect monsters (with effects) with no Pendulum effects, the "Igknight" archetype consists of Normal monsters (no effects) that all have Pendulum effects. Design Appearance The original six Pendulum "Igknights" are entirely 1 specific color from the color wheel: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. For all 3 of the warm colors ("Margrave", "Templar" and "Squire"), the corresponding "Igknights" are the higher scale (7), which is usually paired with the red scale, which is also a warm color. The same can be said for the 3 cool colors ("Gallant", "Crusader" and "Paladin"). They are all the lower scale (2), which is usually paired with the blue scale, a cool color. "Cavalier" breaks this pattern, being a Scale 2 (blue) Pendulum with a warm color (pink). As well is "Veteran", being a Scale 7 (red) Pendulum with a cool color (light blue). Etymology The name "Igknight" is a pun on the words "ignite" and "knight". In the OCG, the majority of the archetype's members are named for various makes and models of guns and ammunition, and wield gunblades inspired by said guns with various types of blade attachments. In the TCG, these names were changed to place more emphasis on the "knight" part of the name, rather than "ignite", by naming the members after medieval military positions (or other terms related to chivalric ideas). Playing style "Igknight" monsters center around destroying each other to limit the opponent's field while setting up a mass Pendulum Summon, as destroyed Pendulum Monsters go to the Extra Deck rather than the Graveyard, allowing them to be summoned to the field en masse. All "Igknight" Pendulum Monsters have the exact same Pendulum Effect: "If you have an "Igknight" card in your other Pendulum Zone: You can destroy all cards in your Pendulum Zones, and if you do, add 1 FIRE Warrior-Type monster from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand." This effect also serves to search and recycle their main offensive Effect Monsters, "Igknight Lancer" and "Igknight Champion." The two then allow the player to return other "Igknight" monsters to the hand, allowing them to be set in the Pendulum Zones to summon the previously destroyed "Igknight" monsters back to the field. The archetype has limited Spell and Trap support, but they further allow the player to freely destroy "Igknight" cards to swarm the field and/or allow the player to get the needed monsters for a Pendulum Summon. The archetype as a whole is unusual for the current metagame, as it is one of the first archetypes for which almost every major monster card is a Normal Monster (by comparison, past archetypes such as "Hieratic", "Ojama" or "Qli"– all of which featured Normal Monsters prominently– mostly relied on Effect Monsters while manipulating the Normal Monsters as Material or Support). However, in exchange for their lack of effects, "Igknights" enjoy an extremely bountiful assortment of external support. As they are also Warrior Normal Monsters, every Pendulum Monster in the archetype is searchable with either "Reinforcement of the Army" or "Summoner's Art". Pure "Igknight" Decks can use "Skill Drain" with minor repercussions. In addition, they also can access "Pot of Riches", "Heart of the Underdog" (along with Trap Cards activated in your Draw Phase, like "Common Charity", "Jar of Greed" and "Legacy of Yata-Garasu") for draw power– giving these decks unusually strong consistency. "Non-Spellcasting Area", "Tyrant's Throes" and "First of the Dragons" can also be mixed in as extra Normal Monster support. In addition, since their effects allow them to search any FIRE Warrior monsters, they open themselves up to other useful offensive support, such as "Blue Flame Swordsman", "Command Knight", "Valkyrian Knight" and "Ultimate Baseball Kid". By the same token, "Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai" makes viable support together with the re-summonable Pendulum "Igknights" for easy effect damage. Additionally, the "Igknights" have access to a variety of Extra Deck monsters. Being Normal Monsters, they can be used as Material to Fusion Summon "First of the Dragons", while using "Elemental HERO Blazeman". "Blazeman" itself being a "HERO" monster, along with the Deck being largely comprised of FIRE monsters allows for access to "Elemental HERO Nova Master". They can also be used for Synchro Summons using Tuner monsters that have high synergy with them, such as "Galaxy Serpent" for being a Normal Monster, or "Rose, Warrior of Revenge", yet another FIRE Warrior monster. This can also help them summon "Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon", who can Special Summon Normal Monsters from your Graveyard. Even though all "Igknight" Normal Monsters are Pendulum Monsters, and thus rarely go the Graveyard, you can still use them as Xyz Materials, which would make them go to the Graveyard. Having multiple Levels, they can Xyz Summon all sorts of Xyz Monsters from Ranks 3 to 6, including powerful ones that require specific Xyz Materials, such as "Heroic Champion - Excalibur", "Blade Armor Ninja", "Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Lion Emperor" and "Hazy Flame Basiltrice". Recommended cards Official Konami Decklists The following Decklists may or may not contain copies of cards that exceed the maximum amount allowed by the current Forbidden & Limited List. These should not be changed, as these Decklists are copied verbatim at the time they were published. References